[Tubercular disease in a general hospital. Apropos of 445 cases]

Four hundred and forty-five patients diagnosed of active thoracic or extrathoracic tuberculosis during a 6 year period were retrospectively reviewed. An increase in the rate of cases was found through the surveyed period. Less than 20% of patients were over 60 years of age at the time of diagnosis. Although the most common localizations were pulmonary and pleural, the disease was exclusively extrathoracic in one fifth of patients. Ten patients died of tuberculosis; 9.6% of patients had untoward side effects of tuberculostatic drugs and 14% did not comply with the scheduled follow up.